How can I improve my openings

I suck at chess and I just want to be able to get my pieces out and learn how to develop normally. I know all the basic rules of development, but there's more to it. How do I learn more about development and openings besides just memorizing lines?

The best way to start learning openings is to understand what the opening, at the very basic level, is about.  The opening is about developing your pieces and preparing your position for the middlegame, which is where the meat of the game, usually takes place.  Of course, some opening lines transition very quickly to the endgame, but those are the exceptions.

How to prepare for the middlegame, in very general terms, when in the opening phase will depend on how both sides make their initial 1 - 6 moves.  What has to happen for the middlegame will depend on the opening used by both sides.  To understand those openings, you will need to learn basic opening principles for those specific set-ups.

Studying good quality games with plenty of annotations will help you understand the big picture from beginning to end.  Using good quality texts will also help you understand the purpose and the methods used for making good opening moves in order to prepare for the rest of the game.

My answer is similar to bladezii's. To improve your openings, improve your middlegame.

I think what he actually meant was that openings are simply an effective way to transisition from start to middlegame. The middlegame is the meat of the game but simply improving there won't necessarily improve your opening. The idea is that both phases should be treated as a continuous series of fundamental/tactical awareness.

Too many players treat them as two seperate entities and that creates an innefficient/choppy way to develope your peices.

The point is " To improve your openings, improve your fundamentals and use them every move"

I'm not a "pro" at chess but I have a lot of fun. In the beginning I, like most begginers, received much advice. A couple of things helped me. Maybe they will help you. 1. Play a lot. Don't get frustrated when you lose; if you have a friend to play chess with, all the better.

2. I would get a chess book on openings and pick out one for white and one for black. My favorite is the Two Knights Defence.....not the strongest but a lot of fun. 3. Analyse your games. Go over & over them.

I hope this helps. Good luck & have fun.

Good point, Orangeishblue

Of course beginners shouln't stop at learning openings but learn the basic principles of chess.............the pin, fork, discovered attack, etc...tempo, space.....material advantage, etc... and of course work on your middle game and endgame. On the internet you can pull up so much helpful info about chess..........it's wonderful

Because learning and getting better at chess is a WHOLE process, meaning all elements of the game get better.  

There is a lie or a myth or a false belief that saying TACTICS is the most important part of the game = the only part of the game that gets learning and practice.  That is false.  The game has to be learned as a whole, and when you learn it as a whole you sytematically get better at integrating all 3 aspects of the game.  All tactics and no strategy and you are simply calculating with no purpose, you will lose games strategically, and I am sure you have already if you think like that.

Also, strategy and tactics need a guide, a path, a certain flow, that's where the opening understanding and opening variation knowledge come into play.  There are variations based on tactical motiffs, or strategic aim made possible with tactics,  sometimes it is pure strategic aims, and other variations are based on the interpretation of a player or certain players of the position and its merits.

Also, you can also help avoid certain opening lines when you find out, thanks to your time devoted to endgame study, those openings lines need to be avoided because of the poor prospects in the endgame.

It is all linked, it is a systematic approach.  One phase helps another, and all phases depend on all elements of the game.

Learn chess as a whole, it will change your game drastically.

WoW, Bladezii!! You covered it pretty thoroughly. 

Take a look at my videos where I explain my games, or take a look at my annotated games (check all my posts)  and you will see the flow of the opening all the way to the endgame work together.

Learn all 3 phases in an organized way.

Just  start playin it as that is the only way. I do not care how much you read about it as nothing is more valuable than experience. Yes you will lose and you will know what areas you need to improve. That simple.

Note: No opening is invincible!

@orange

You seem to be borderlining, if not outright on their side, with the philosophy that it is tactics and nothing but tactics.  That is not true.  The first thing that someone has to learn is the object of the game, to checkmate an opponent's king.  There are strategies to use in order to get there, and tactics are the elements which make sure those strategic aims are successful.  The positional understanding helps you identify which strategies to use and what tactical motiffs will be available or possible in each type of position or piece placement.

Think of the opening as the tool that brings strategies, tactics, and positional understanding together in order to prepare for the fight.

Tactics is the most important part of the game, but it SHOULD not ever be the only thing studied or learned in order to grow and be a much stronger player.

There have been many many games when the 'the tactical' or the 'attacking player' gets owned because the opponent just locked him up positionally or his tactics worked against him because he was running the wrong plan according to the position.   The exchange up with a lost game happens a lot.  That is only one example.

I respectfully disagree. Tactics are a tool. Be it a very important tool because it maximizes options for a given posistion. 

Even tactics that you use are dependant on positions, however. So understanding the fundamentals of chess begins before the tools. I believe observation and good planning habits should come before tactics. It's all about the position and the goal of that position. You can use all the tactics at your disposal but if you are not aware of what's happening you will either miss opportunities or make bluders.

To improve your opening play, study typical middle game plans and strategy. The thing is, if you have good knowledge of typical plans in middle game positions, you will know where you will place your pieces in the opening.

Learn the middle game really well.  In particular you should know how to read the most likely plans based on the pawn structure.  After that the opening begins to make sense and you can study and memorize opening moves.

I disagree with this. Bladezii does not mention you ignore tactics, what he is just trying to imply is aside from tactics a beginner should study other basic aspects of chess like basic endgames and basic middle game ideas.

The problem with only tactics approach for a beginner is if he/she can't see a tactic he/she will not know what to do next. No one is telling that a beginner should get the book My System, but reading introduction to strategy books like Winning Chess Strategy and basic endgame book like Pandolfini's Endgame course will not hurt a beginner, in fact it will improve his/her game.

A beginner lacking basic strategy ideas if he/she can't find a tactic will make simple positional mistakes like exchanging a very strong bishop in open position at endgame against a passive knight.  A begginer might also get disinterested playing chess if she/he don't know what to do if there are no tactics available.

Yes you can. You can plan by actually observing the posistion first. Also you cannot effectively learn tactics to riding a horse without observing what a horse is as it is very different from riding a bull thus require a very different set of tactics. And you must observe what you are jumping over before apply tactics to jump over something that is set in height width and distance. Even with that Tactics will not allow you execute if you do not prepare hence plan when you need to jump. This becomes a fundamental, yet crucial judgement on timing.

Not really true. What you can learn from many years of playing chess, you will learn it in few hours reading a book.

Here in chess.com many players have thousand of thousand games, yet they never improve because they never study chess. My nephew as beginner learn from lessons in books.Then after a few months, he is already beating older people, who played chess many times, but never study it.

If you think your openings need improvement, start reading about openings. My recommendation:

There is a difference between staring at something and observing it. 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Observing

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/staring

Didn't you say that "A beginner can stare at a chessboard forever if he wants". Well, he's not observing he's staring. I never said that staring is fundamental. I said observation is fundamental.